The present invention concerns itself with providing a noval calculator intended to provide fertility information to the female user thereof. One of the difficulties which as prevailed in the filed of gynecology has been the inability to accurately predict the time periods, on a monthly basis, when a female is most likely to conceive. It is well known that this information is of critical importance to females having difficulties in understanding and predicting the optimum time periods when conception is most likely to occur, and therefore, experts in the field have employed a host of methods and modes of treatment, including treating female patients with a variety of hormones in order to optimize fertility time periods.
Prior art calculators which have been created exist primarily for the purpose of predicting when a birth will occur if the approximate time of conception is known. Such calculators generally are designed by having a base scale which is divided into the calendar months of a year based upon a 365 day year, and a second scale rotatably movable with respect to the first scale which defines the least menses begun by the female, and then extrapolating a possible date of conception, and then determining the probable implantation and from that date measuring the trimesters until the calculated date of conception can be read from the base scale. Such calculators are fairly common, and again, are merely intended to give a female an expected birth date of a child, primarily based upon the last determinable day when a previous menses occurred. However, heretofore, no calculator has been provided which will provide information to the female user thereof to indicate an optimum fertility time period, or in the alternative, to indicate an optimum infertility time period.
It is deemed to be quite relevant and important in the field of gynecology and obstetrics to provide a mechanism whereby a female will have the opportunity to determine the most likely time periods on a monthly basis when conception is possible which can be utilized, at least in a first attempt to achieve conception without the need of any mode of treatment with hormones or other such modes of treatment. If is deemed desirable to provide a simple calculator which is designed to calculate optimum fertility time periods regardless of the actual menstrual cycle of a female, so long as such cycles fall within the overall general average of menstrual cycles. Hence, the calculator of the present invention will function, if properly utilized, to indicate the optimum periods of fertility, as well as the optimum periods of infertility.
A fertility calculator of the type generally described herein has been set forth in my co-pending application Ser. No. 736.108, which illustrates a calculator having a first scale divided into 365 equal units, each unit assigned a day for each month of a full calender year, and a second scale positioned in operative relation to the first scale, wherein the second scale includes a plurality of information segments. Each of the information segments is sized to correspond with a different menstrual cycle length calculated by the time period between the first day of successive menstrual cycles and was designed to range between a 23 day cycle, and a 35 day cycle. As was disclosed and claimed therein, each of the information segments was spaced from the next adjacent information segment by a spacer segment each of the spacer segments being of equal size. Hence, in the fertility calculator as disclosed therein, there were a total of 13 information segments, and 13 spacer segments, thereby to form a total of 26 segments throughout a 360.degree. arc. The calculator is utilized by manipulating the second scale in order to place the indicator indicating the first day of a menstrual cycle of a given cycle length in registry with a particular day and month as noted on the first scale, representing the date of the previous menstrual cycle, and reading from the optimum fertility indicator formed on the second scale the certain days of the month which would be the optimum fertility time period for conception. While the fertility calculator as disclosed and claimed therein operates in the manner indicated, and does in fact function to provide the user thereof with the necessary information such as optimum fertility periods as well as periods of infertility, it was determined that the device could be simplified by rearranging and re-designing the information segments on the second scale to make the entire calculator easier to use. Hence, the present invention was developed from the standpoint of greater simplicity, and further expanding the use of the calculator by expanding the cycle lengths to include cycle lengths as short as 20 cycle days. The present invention as described herein is intended to provide an improved and more simplified fertility calculator as will be more fully described hereinafter.